Brand Atlanta's National Campaign Focuses On Targeted Leisure Travel

Brand Atlanta Inc. is continuing its focus on motivating increased overnight leisure travel to Atlanta via targeted marketing efforts this spring and summer, including currently active promotions aimed at increasing the city’s awareness and destination appeal.

“We’re pleased to have contributed to an overall increase of 10.5 percent in overnight leisure visitation that Atlanta experienced in 2006, leading to $792 million in direct spending by visitors here,” said Melinda Ennis-Roughton, Executive Director and Chief Marketing Officer for Brand Atlanta. “This strong momentum as well as many collaborations created using our brand platform were based on investments in marketing Atlanta made by our corporate founders and the city.”

While Brand Atlanta’s current marketing programs will continue to have a positive impact into the summer of 2008, direct funding from the City of Atlanta is concluding for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which ends June 30. Securing sustainable funding to continue actively marketing Atlanta remains a priority.

“Together with the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, we have already begun to actively seek solutions in collaboration with hospitality industry members and others with a stake in continuously promoting Atlanta and increasing tourist spending here,” Ennis-Roughton said. “Driving positive economic impact and new revenues to the city’s general fund via tourism and greater visitor spending is as vital now as ever.”

ACVB shares Brand Atlanta’s mission to build a long-term funding revenue stream.
“Every major city in the country has aggressive marketing efforts and advertising budgets focusing on destination appeal to visitors, which drives direct economic impact,” said Gregory Pierce, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer/CFO for ACVB. “We at ACVB are in complete agreement that we need to maintain the marketing momentum that has been achieved. ACVB and Brand Atlanta are working jointly on these tourism initiatives and the overall long-term funding plan.”

Visible, active promotions produced by Brand Atlanta now in the national marketplace include:

· Chicago, Jacksonville and Washington D.C. markets: Print advertising/cable TV and promotions are currently appearing in these three national markets as well as in travel publications. Each promotion is specially tagged with a message for readers and viewers that build a strong Atlanta tourism incentive.

· Web-savvy, home-based vacation planners: Custom web promotions and interactive programs are now on-line generating new interest in Atlanta’s assets for prospective visitors seeking their next travel destination. These were developed in close partnership with ACVB for Atlanta.Net, the destination’s official, highly-trafficked web site for visitors and tourist information.

“Our marketing strategies and tactics are yielding growing and measurable interest in Atlanta as a dynamic destination for business and overnight leisure visitors, making literally tens of thousands of new impressions daily,” Ennis-Roughton said. “None of this could have occurred without strong collaboration with the ACVB, Turner Broadcasting and many hotel and dining establishments featured in our current promotions.”

Upcoming Promotions

The National Black Arts Festival, with a full lineup of events in July, has received financial and marketing support from Brand Atlanta, which has allowed this globally unique festival to market to a national audience for the first time.

A major opportunity for fall and early 2009 in Atlanta is the simultaneous arrival here of the blockbuster exhibits Tutankhamun: The Golden King & The Great Pharaohs (presented by the Walter C. Carlos Museum) and The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army (presented by the High Museum).

“Each of these exhibits are demonstrating enormous drawing power in other major markets but the dual arrival of these one-of-a-kind exhibitions in Atlanta offers a major showcase and cultural reawakening for Atlanta – including greater visibility for all our arts and cultural assets – not possible since the 1990s,” Ennis-Roughton said. “Our short-term efforts will be focused on promoting all that Atlanta has to offer during the period when these exhibits greatly heighten visitation interest in Atlanta.”

Governance Update

Brand Atlanta’s chairman of the board, Ron Brown, passed away on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Peter Aman, partner, Bain and Company, has been appointed as interim chair.

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